SCUGOG -- Scugog has agreed to extend the Greenbank airport’s site alteration permit until the start of 2015 as the airbase continues to make improvements that will allow it to accept up to 400 truckloads of fill daily.

With the current permit set to expire on May 1, councillors agreed on Monday night to another extension -- Jan. 1, 2015 -- that will allow the Regional Road 47 airport to continue its ambitious expansion project.

Instead of a typical six-month extension, Township officials opted for an eight-month agreement due to the municipal election slated for Oct. 27.

Councillors were also told at the April 28 meeting that officials with Durham Region and the Ministry of Transportation had finally agreed on a location for the official entranceway to the airport. That has been one of the hang-ups that has stalled the ministry’s granting of a full fill permit to the airbase.

It’s expected to take four to six months for Greenbank airport officials to have the entranceway designed and built. A temporary entrance will be built alongside the permanent entrance to allow the operation to continue while construction is being carried out.

When the new entranceway is in place and new turn lanes on Regional Road 47 are complete, it’s expected that the airport will be granted a permit that will allow it to double the number of trucks it accepts each day to 400.

“That will likely be sometime in the fall if everything is completed,” said Ian Roger, Scugog’s director of public works and parks.

Councillors were also told that airport officials have promised to step up the frequency of mud-sweeping and flushing on area roadways to clear away muck left by dump trucks. The airbase has implemented daily reviews on whether to accept fill based on weather conditions.

“It sounds like they’ve taken the threat, if you will, very seriously and they’re planning on implementing those measures very quickly,” said Regional Councillor Bobbie Drew.

Mr. Roger also stressed that it will be up to local police forces to judge the safety of the roadways when it comes to mud and debris.

“The MTO made it quite clear that it is going to be the regional and provincial police forces that determine when (those) roads (are) unsafe for motorists, not the Township of Scugog,” said the director. “So that’s not going to affect our liability in any way.”

That’s another example, said Scugog Mayor Chuck Mercier, of how limited the Township’s involvement is in the airport’s expansion and improvement plan.

“I think we’re confusing the community because obviously the Greenbank community had this big vision that we had control over federal aviation and I think most of them were quite surprised at just how limited our work is,” said the mayor.

“To me, we’re not making any decisions other than waiting for people that are in authority to make up their mind.”